Shunbara Ippon, Higanzakura Ichida
by UltraM2000
Summary: Spring has arrived, sakura are blooming and Gojyo's searching for a gift for a very special young lady. GojyoHouran AU.


**春薔薇一本、彼岸桜一朶  
Shunbara Ippon, Higanzakura Ichida (One Spring Rose, One Branch of Early Sakura)  
**  
Disclaimer: Don't own Saiyuki--Gensoumaden, Reload or Gunlock! Fic inspired in part by a gift from a friend (Delilah-san again ^^) Gojyou/Houran, implied Gojyo x Houran and elements of AUness.  
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It was on that day that he sneaked to the calendar and checked the date himself. No question about it--it WAS her birthday.  
  
_Well, at least I managed to remember,_ he thought, _but what am I going to get her...?_  
  
He was filled with not a small amount of doubt, but then, Sha Gojyo was a man. A straightforward, direct and 200% masculine individual. With that being said, Sha Gojyo left the house without his wife Houran knowing.  
  
Spring had finally come to Chouan! Everywhere you looked, the sakura were beginning to come into bloom. Their delicate aroma floated on the wind and carried through the whole town. Gojyo then remembered that Houran was a great lover of flowers, and so he stopped for a while at the small florist's in the town square.  
  
'Irasshaimase~~!!' beamed the florist, a pretty young lady with a smile as sunny as her blooms.  
  
'Hello. Wow, you're looking even prettier than all these flowers today, aren't you? Got a date for tonight?'  
  
'Oh, you're absolutely TERRIBLE, you! Is there something in particular you might be looking for...?'  
  
'Ah...no...not really...Just, er, looking around...'  
  
'"...because I have no idea what to choose for the occasion." Right?'  
  
'Oi oi...you didn't have to go THAT far!'  
  
'Well, take your time and look around as long as you want! When you DO decide...'  
  
"Right, right. Thanks." Without another word, Gojyo quickly made some distance between him and the florist. There was an indefinite burning sensation to his cheeks. _Geez. I'm never showing my face at this florist's again if she's always like this..._  
  
Try as he might, however, no matter how hard he looked around and how hard he thought, Gojyo just couldn't come to a decision. Even if a man is a straightforward, direct and 200% masculine individual, there are very few such people who can stay calm trying to choose the perfect bunch of flowers. How nice it would be if they all had labels on them stating what occasion they were for. Gojyo was at quite a loss, and prepared to leave.  
  
All of a sudden, a delicate scent caught his nose, one that reminded him of somebody he had left at home. He turned...and then, he saw The Flowers. An idea came to him like a long-forgotten spring breeze.  
  
'Miss! I'll take these...!'  
  
'All right, let me take those from you...and that'll be 5000 yen!'  
  
'...Oops.'  
  
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'Happy birthday, Houran. Here, I got you a present...'  
  
'...!'  
  
The next words were delivered with slight embarassment and at a pitch much lower than usual. 'They're not much, so it's OK if you don't really think they're pretty. Me, I'm not so good with flowers, and I didn't have enough cash on me, so...'  
  
'Oh, no!' Houran quickly replied. 'I could never have thought of such a thing, Gojyo! They're beautiful, but...why...' From the pale pink gauze of the slim bouquet, a single long-stemmed spring rose and a single branch of early sakura gazed up at her.  
  
'That's what I'm saying, I didn't have any money...'  
  
'No, that's not what I meant...Why the combination of the spring rose and early sakura?'  
  
"Ah...you see...er..." For once, the Casanova was at a loss for words. He did, after a few moments, manage to concoct a reply. 'It's like this, see. If you compare, say, a summer flower to a spring flower, then of course the one that blooms in summer is much more colourful. But then, flowers like the spring rose have an innocent, pure type of aroma. It's a quiet sort of beauty, very much like someone I know. I sort of like that kinda thing, y'know?'  
  
Two tiny spots of red were beginning to spread across Houran's cheeks. 'Is that true for the sakura, then?'  
  
'If you want,' Gojyo drawled mysteriously. 'But then again, pink suits you. Anyway, perhaps there's somewhere we should go out to have a bite tonight...'  
  
'That would be wonderful, but...actually...Gojyo, I have something I want to talk to you about...'  
  
'He~? What?'  
  
"Ah..."  
  
Gojyo's consequent shout echoed all around the town.  
  
-----  
  
(And nine months after that, the Sha family grew by one...)


End file.
